The Inca Trail

There are many reasons to walk the Inca Trail. Getting to the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu and seeing abundant historical monuments along the way is one obvious reason. Suffering the hike and enjoying the sense of achievement is another. Experiencing the flora and fauna of the Andes is a next one. Doing it for all three reasons, is obviously the best of all.

Few give more than fleeting attention to the ecology along the trail. To provide some ecological background I came up with this site. To understand the ecology of the Inca Trail, it is important to understand the effects of altitude and rainfall. If you travel Peru from west to east, you will notice the immense change in ecosystems and climates. The Andes is the most important factor in this. Essentially, the cold gulf stream in the Pacific Ocean prevents rain formation on the west coast leading to desert conditions in the west. In the east lies the moist Amazon basin but rain coming from that direction can not cross the Andes and alleviate the drought in the west, but the eastern slopes of the Andes are lush and green.

Although on the Inca Trail you don't travel exactly from west to east, the above transitions are still noticeable on a small scale. The transition from dry to moist here is mostly a consequence of altitude. Still, the influence of the nearby Amazon basin is becoming apparent.